A fantastical and haunting coming-of-age graphic novel from debut creator, Marlyn Spaaij, that offers adventure, magic, and mystery on every page.
Frygea Forest… An ancient and mysterious place where trolls lurk in the mossy spaces between tree trunks and changelings scamper about, causing mischief. A place that Kyra and her sisters Margot and Janna return to every year to spend the summer at their grandma’s farm: roasting marshmallows, catching frogs and befriending tiny, grumpy root goblins.
But this summer is different, and as teenage Margot drifts apart from her sisters, slamming doors and keeping secrets, Kyra starts to worry. When Margot is enticed into the woods by the mysterious figures in the mist, Kyra resolves to do everything in her power to save her sister from danger, even if that means facing the spooky forces within Frygea Forest with just her kid sister for help.
Join Kyra and her sisters in this beautiful coming-of-age graphic novel about embracing the changes that come from growing up, but never letting go of the imagination that keeps you young. If you’re careful, and ever so quiet, you might spot a root goblin marching along the ground, or a glittering alf darting amongst the leaves…
Richard Howlett –
The story sees three young sisters go to stay with their grandma in a house on the edge of some mysterious woods, inhabited by trolls, hellhounds and the fog furies.
On one had this is a fun little adventure story about three girls who wander too deep into the forest, but on the other it’s a coming of age tale that sees a young girl become a young woman, with the help of her grandma and some strange magical forces.
I don’t think I’m the target demographic here, and I’ll hold my hands up and say that I know next to nothing about what it must be like for a young girl who’s finding out about her body changing as she grows up. Saying that, the book is not trying to teach anyone the facts of life, only that change doesn’t have to be scary, and I think that’s a message anyone can get on board with.
This is not a book I would have picked up myself, but I was lucky enough to get an advance copy in exchange of an honest review. For my own personal score it would probably be a 3* book, but I’ve marked it up based on the fact that I would be happy to gift this book to someone of the right age.